Gisborne City Vintage Railway

Home of WA165

Welcome to the world of our Wa165 Steam Locomotive. Its home is in Gisborne the sunny corner of the North Island where we are first to see the sun of the new day in New Zealand.

Wa165 is the only remaining Wa class train which was built in Hillside workshops in 1897 in Dunedin, New Zealand. Our Wa165 was the ideal locomotive for the heavily graded railway line between Gisborne and Motuhora where it spent most of its working life.

Now Wa165 is retired but comes out for special steam trips and excursions for you and your families out in the sun. What makes our steam trips so special is the travel across the airport (the only one in the southern hemisphere) and the spectacular beach cliff views from 500ft above sea level at Beach Loop.

IMPORTANT NOTE: KiwiRail has CLOSED the line between Gisborne and Muriwai and Beach Loop due to line and bridge repairs that are required. Sadly NO EXCURSIONS will run until further notice.

January 2015 Update: The current situation is that a feasibility study is being undertaken to determine whether or not it will be worthwhile for KiwiRail to enter into a lease arrangement whereby a private company Gisborne Napier Railway (GNR) will take over the line and operate trains between Gisborne and Napier. The deadline for this study to be completed is 1st March 2015. Should GNR succeed with gaining access to the line then, once the line is repaired, we will enter an agreement with them which will allow GCVR to recommence operations to Muriwai and Beach Loop. If the bid fails, then GCVR will apply to KiwiRail for a lease of the line to Muriwai. For this to happen we will have to raise funds of about NZ$250,000 to carry out necessary repairs to the track and bridges before it will be safe for us to commence operations.

Whatever happens with the feasibility study, GCVR hopes to be back operating as far as Muriwai by the beginning of November 2015, in time for the start of the cruise ship season.

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